582 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



along the Potomac Palisades. This area is now, however, seriously 

 threatened by an unnecessary $60 million interstate highway project. 



In nearly two days of conference, we have heard little reference to 

 the President's wish to make the Potomac a conservation model for 

 the entire Nation as expressed in his policy guidance paper on conser- 

 vation and specifically singled out in the message that initiated this 

 very conference. We hope this panel will specifically express its 

 strong support for making the Potomac a conservation model in its 

 recommendations to the President and that it will call upon all gov- 

 ernmental agencies involved to devote all efforts to that end. 



The Potomac River and its shores are rich in historic, natural and 

 aesthetic values. Citizens all over the United States should be able 

 to look to this area as a model of irreplaceable natural beauty and 

 conservation. This should be the national kickoff for conservation 

 of our country's beauty. 



Mrs. EVELYN LOWENSTEIN. Fall River's Civic Beautification 

 Commission was set up last August by Mayor Roland G. Desmarais 

 to bring about a new image and better environment for a city that, 

 like so many former cotton mill towns, had more than its share of 

 ugliness. 



The problem actually was twofold: Fall River was and is 

 undergoing the shattering impact of a Federal highway being bull- 

 dozed and dynamited literally through the heart of the city. 



With the establishment of the Beautification Commission, how- 

 ever, it became possible for citizens to become involved in a large- 

 scale effort to upgrade the appearance of the city, even while 

 enduring the necessary dirt and confusion of highway construction. 



The key word is "involvement." The Commission works to moti- 

 vate the population to motivate itself in the task of appearance better- 

 ment, on the assumption that such a program will succeed only with 

 grass roots approval and participation. 



The function of the Commission is to approve ideas, to coordinate 

 projects and overlapping civic and municipal agencies, and to make 

 available for consultation professional advisers in the fields of archi- 

 tecture, city planning and horticulture. 



It works to stimulate the individual citizen to improve and beau- 

 tify his own habitation and property, to encourage groups to work 

 for city improvement, and to teach young people to be part of the 

 beautification effort. 



